(xxxii) Decision (Lynn Campbell, III)
Shirinfell smiled softly, as if she had expected this. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info however, she did not immediately accede to Yufie's request.
"Your mother has indeed successfully completed the exploration, but her strength is far above you at this time." The woman whispered, "And the inside of the palace may be even more dangerous now than she was then." ”
"I understand, so I need a certain level of assistance, as well as as the most detailed information about the underground area." Yuffie replied calmly, "That's where the source of the polluted forest may have come from, that's my speculation. Therefore, it is reasonable for me to confirm the facts myself. ”
"What a big deal." Shirinfell slapped the girl on the head amusefully—in her opinion, Yuffie, who was only twenty years old, was indeed a child, "Your companions are also in danger, have you asked their opinions?" ”
Lynn turned her head and glanced at Yufie. Then she raised her eyebrows and nodded thoughtlessly.
"I'm going to go there too." She clapped her hands and said lightly, "In a closed environment for more than 200 years, if there are living organisms, what kind of ecosystem will be formed?" It's a great environment for experiments, and it's not impossible to win an Alcana Prize as long as you sort out the data. ”
She was referring to the triennial selection, chosen by the Wizarding Academic Federation to be awarded to wizards who had made outstanding contributions to the development of arcane knowledge. Established about 600 years ago, the award is named after Ain Alkana, the legendary wizard of Erna who passed on magic to the world, and is divided into three categories: Magical Structure, Magical Application, and Magical Biology. The winner of each sub-category is usually one person, but occasionally it is shared by more than one person.
After the war that swept the continent more than 200 years ago, the estrangement between various ethnic groups has not been completely eliminated to this day. Today, the majority of the members of the Academic Consortium are Kamal, which makes the weight of the award much smaller than it was earlier. And when she mentions it, it's actually more just fun.
"Count us in." Lily followed up and picked up, "This kind of good opportunity to make a name for yourself in the mainland, we must not let it go?" ”
"If Lily goes, I'll go with me." Alphons' eyes shone with determination—again physical—"I'll protect everyone, rest assured." ”
"How can you forget me!" Amberly poked her head out, "I've said it a long time ago, and I haven't avenged the revenge of this forest." When I find the troublemaker, I'll hang him up and smoke him again, and then draw until I'm satisfied! ”
Lynn felt a warmth in her heart. Lily and the others had only been together with Yuffie for less than a month, and Amber had only met a few days ago, and they were both trustworthy and kind enough people. When the academy was attacked, she had complained a little about the mentors who had failed to fight - though she knew it might be a wise choice. But if the same thing happened again, she was almost certain that the few people in front of her would not sit idly by.
"Hey, and you, what are you thinking?" Lily poked Bell in the back, "Don't tell us you're going to back down?" ”
"That'...... How is that possible! The Beron man said with a flushed face, I don't know if it was because he was excited, or if he drank too much of the green barley wine of the Elna people, "I am such a powerful person, what if ...... If you don't go, you'll be in big trouble! ”
The people around him laughed together, dispelling the vague solemnity and uneasiness in the air.
……
At noon the next day, the completed exploration team officially embarked on the journey. The team was led by Yuffie and consisted of Lynn, Amberly, Lily, Bell, Alphonse, Eska, and Yudina in total - in addition to Lilianor's and Big White Bear, a messenger of nature who was skilled in reconnaissance, and a second-class wizard of the Elna. The reason why there were no 10 people at once was because Yuffie suggested that if anything changes in the outside world, there might be a need to send people in.
Ruth the Fierce Bear is placed in the care of Modilola. Grace has successfully transformed into Lynn's Esoteric Spirit, and can freely enter and exit a small half-plane constructed by the girl, accompanying her whenever and wherever she wants. For Lynn, who had completed the ritual in less than a day, Issis even expressed a desire to take her as a disciple - which she politely refused, of course.
The forest was as cold and deep as ever, and the group carefully walked through the decaying trees and foul-smelling swamps before once again into a wilderness filled with the smell of death.
Shirinfell, the messenger of nature, Isses, the leader of the wizards, and four other wizards, as well as the commander of the Golden Lily Guard, Astana, and two dozen knights also arrived. The procession of nearly forty men apparently attracted the attention of the infernal creatures scattered across the wasteland, the jackals or hyenas-like creatures swarmed in between, with a few standing creatures on their legs, heads more like jackals than humans, and tattered weapons in their hands.
"Gnolls? These scum are actually here, just saving the effort to find them. Astana snorted coldly, these filthy and dwarf creatures were more cunning poachers than the Kamals, and naturally he was not liked, "Knights, form a formation, give them a good time!" ”
The Golden Lily Guards responded in unison, and the snow-white mounts beneath them spontaneously lined up in two rows and began to trot forward with the command. The light on the sharp horns of the mount shone and spread even further, and the divine aura caused the beasts to flinch involuntarily.
The group of gnolls shouted and tried to resist, but more than twenty heavy cavalry ran over them mercilessly. Silver-glittering spears pierced most of the enemies who failed to escape, and the few that slipped through the net were knocked to the ground by their shields, and then trampled into meat sauce by their heavy iron hooves.
They turned their mounts around and repeated the step. This completely demoralized the jackals, who scattered in a hurry, and the herds that saw that the situation was not good also retreated. Shireinfell waved his hand to the knights in satisfaction and motioned for the team to move on.
After a short time, the exploration team followed Shirinfell's guidance and came to the vicinity of the entrance and exit of the Lost Lock. It was more silent and silent than it had been, with no sound to be heard, and the withered, blackened trunks of the trees had disappeared from sight, leaving only a worthless land covered with chalky sand.
"This shouldn't be the case." Astana shook his head in disbelief, "The inside and outside of the Mystery Lock are independent of each other, this should be a normal forest, right, who the hell did what!?" ”
"That's what this expedition is for." The wizarding leader's face was slightly gloomy, and he had to agree with Shirinfell or Yuffie after witnessing this, "We will also investigate and analyze from the outside, and try to find out the magic ingredients and sources of this land as soon as possible." ”
"Please keep yourself safe first, for only by returning here alive will your discoveries be known to the world." Shirinfell looked at the group of explorers and said softly.
"Since you learned that ritual from me, you can be considered my honorary disciple." Isses said with a straight face, "Remember, don't fail, that's a shame on me." ”
"Don't worry, 'mentor', you also have to work hard to investigate, so as not to be stolen by us." The blonde girl waved her hand at the other and replied with a smile.
"The structure of the Mystery Lock changes every second, so the location of each entry is uncertain." Shirinfell took a branch from his bosom and distributed the emerald green leaves to the crowd, "Through the anchoring of the key, the place where you enter is the exit when you leave. Remember to keep them, but in general, there are very few ways to destroy the key, so you don't have to worry too much. ”
Amberly, Eskar, and Yudina nodded solemnly. Lily looked unconcerned, and Bell rubbed her hands together. Alphonse's eyes flickered rapidly, as if analyzing the structure of the leaf. Lynn took Yuffie's hand and suddenly remembered a strange question that she hadn't had time to ask.
"That's right, Shireinfell. I've been hearing you talk about lichs and lichs for the past few days, and the books are all about 'powerful lichs', so what's that guy's name? ”
The woman's natural messenger exhaled and lowered her voice.
"The destruction and death he caused was too heavy. There was a group of people who believed that as long as there was anyone who remembered him, he would return again with calamity - so many deliberately forgot his name. Shireinfell stared into Lynn's eyes, "But in my opinion, remembering history doesn't bring disaster, forgetting does." ”
"That man's original name was Femir Stark, the genius wizard of the White Tower family and the last member of his family." The woman said word for word, "And when he stirs up trouble, he calls himself ...... Huruman Stark. ”
The blonde girl nodded, trying to remember the two names.
"Next, I wish you all the best on your journey." Shirinfell gripped the two remaining branches in his hand and whispered an ancient incantation.
Lynn's eyes widened as she saw as if a door was unfolding in front of her, which seemed to be virtual and real, with a silver glow flowing.
She lifted her steps and walked in with Yuffie beside her.